The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was likely to provide $0.9 million project preparatory technical assistance (PPTA) for 'Power Distribution Enhancement Project' (PDEP) to ensure a sufficient and stable power supply in the country.
Official sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the Bank would shortly provide this assistance to support the government's strategy for continued poverty reduction through sustained economic growth by assisting in the preparation of this project.
Under this technical assistance, key activities would be undertaken in four major areas including technical project design; economic and financial evaluations; compliance with the national and ADB's safeguard policies; and linkages among economic growth, poverty, and the power sector.
The scope of the four major areas will be to improve system stability and security, reduce losses, and improve the reliability of supply through the construction and upgrading of 132 kV, 66 kV, 32 kV, and 11 kV distribution lines, and construction of 132 kV and 66 kV sub-stations. Besides, it would also execute the installation and upgrading of the metering systems, meters, and billing and collection systems.
The project will also increase the confidence of commercial financiers in financing long-term transmission and distribution assets during the transmission period.
Ministry of Water and Power would be the executing agency of the project they said.
The power sector was currently undergoing reforms and restructuring, supported by the Bank. In the transition phase, sector sustainability needs to be ensured by providing liquidity for augmentation and expansion projects as well as for larger maintenance work the proposed project will contribute to achieving sustainability in the sector. The government was making hectic efforts to achieve economic growth targets through increased power generation capacity, efficiency and coverage.
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